Tenure detrimental to our society

Dear Editor: This is in response to the March 25 letter from Marvin Johnson, associate music professor at the University of Alabama, stating that tenure is essential.

The quality of a free enterprise society does not improve with the implementation of a tenure system. Webster's Dictionary states, "tenure is a status granted after a trial period protecting one from summary dismissal."

There are no guarantees for employment among other career professionals or skilled persons. Their jobs depend on the quality of their performance. Tenure allows those not engaged in quality performance to continue at below standards, which is detrimental to our society.

Bad teachers can dwarf minds of future scientists, stall productivity, produce engineers that may err in feasibility studies or produce doctors that perform fatal medical errors. Adherence to the policy of a few stand in the way of individual achievement.

Separately, persons in the teaching or instructional arena do not exhibit professional quality when expressing leftist opinions not related to the subject. Students attend classes for a specific education. Negative freedom of speech has no place in a classroom.